A New Chapter for Justice in Maryland: Launch of the Second Innocence Project Clinic

Maryland has taken a significant step forward in the fight against wrongful convictions with the launch of a second Innocence Project Clinic. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender, in partnership with the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, has expanded the state’s capacity to address wrongful convictions and train the next generation of justice advocates.

This new clinic will be led by Erica Suter, who has long been a powerful voice in post-conviction work. Meanwhile, Rachel Bennett, formerly a senior attorney at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and an assistant public defender, will step in as Director of the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Innocence Project Clinic, which has been operating since 2008. Together, these leaders are strengthening Maryland’s commitment to correcting past wrongs and ensuring fairer futures.

Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue underscored the importance of this expansion, “You’re increasing the number of individuals we can help, as well as increasing the experience for students. It’s a partnership that multiplies the impact of our collective resources.”

The clinics are not only about freeing the innocent, they are also powerful training grounds. Law students participate for a full year, working in teams to review case files, interview witnesses, and draft court documents, all under the supervision of experienced attorneys. They also take part in a twice-weekly seminar that blends skills training with guest speakers, preparing them to carry this mission into their careers.

The kickoff event took place on September 17th. It featured scenes from Sixteen Years, the documentary about Jeffrey Deskovic, who falsely confessed at the age of 16 and spent 16 years in prison before being exonerated in 2006. Following the screening, a panel discussion featured Jeffrey Deskovic, who is now an attorney and founder of The Deskovic Foundation, Jia Rizvi, filmmaker of Sixteen Years, Bernard Webster, a Baltimore County exoneree exonerated by DNA in 2002, and Erica J. Suter, Director of the IPC and moderator of the panel. They shared why this work is so deeply personal and urgently needed.

The human impact of wrongful convictions is impossible to ignore. As of April 2025, the National Registry of Exonerations has recorded 3,646 exonerations in the United States from 1989 through the end of 2024. Among them is Douglass Haynie, a Baltimore native who spent 32 years in prison after a wrongful conviction in Worcester County in 1993. Released on May 29 of this year, Haynie reflected on the tireless advocacy of Erica Suter, saying she “goes to the ends of the earth to make sure her clients receive justice.”

The clinics also shape the lawyers of tomorrow. Erin Carrington Smith, who participated in the University of Baltimore clinic from 2022 to 2023, described how the experience transformed her career path. Once considering immigration law, her time in the clinic–and an externship with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender–solidified her commitment to post-conviction defense. She now begins her career as an assistant public defender in the Post Conviction Defenders Division, calling the work “among the most important” because it ensures that people are not imprisoned wrongly.

This expansion is more than an academic milestone, it is a statement of values. Maryland is investing in the belief that justice can be restored, that every life matters, and that students, exonerees, and advocates together can bend the system toward fairness.

September 17th not only marked the opening of a new clinic–it reaffirmed a movement. Through stories, film, and lived experience, a light was shone on the work still to be done and the lives waiting for justice.